C.J. Duggan

Can we get out of here?""Your chariot awaits.""In the form of a blue Ford ute?" I curved my brow."But of course," he said in an over-the-top French accent."Sacre blur, bad accent alert!""Wow," he said, "Le rude?""Le sorry?""Le hurt." Toby clutched his heart."What can I do to soothe your shattered ego?"Toby drummed his chin thoughtfully, pacing around me. He stopped just near enough to whisper in my ear."Le kiss?

That__ the thing. I__e never met anyone like you, Tess. You think you__e a no one? You__e so wrong. So wrong. You stand in a room with all the Angelas, even the Ellies. None of them can compare to you. I remember when you started working at the Onslow, I couldn__ keep my eyes off you. You were so terrified. You weren__ full of yourself like other girls. Every time you walked into the bar, you were like a breath of fresh air. Even when Angela was a bitch to you, you rose above it. You made me see the difference in people. You__e not a nobody, Tess, you__e a somebody.

She is something else.

He slid over to me and grabbed me closer to him. My smile fell from my face with the unexpectedness of it. His hands cupped my face, his lips hovering above mine.__ou seriously want to know, Tess?__e closed the space and claimed my mouth with an urgent, hot, delving kiss.He smiled. __ou are sexy, in your own goofball way, you__e sweet and beautiful and smart and funny and, although you kiss to the point where I feel like I want to go back for seconds, you__e my best friend, and that__ why I don__ want to tap that.

Tess, there isn't a drunken, screaming netballer in the world that would have made me not want to ... continue.

I may have been buzzed last night, but I remember everything. I can't promise you that I won't want to drive you home, or kiss you like crazy again. Because I will. I do.

Boat.Toby.1pm.Shit!

When you knock off work tonight, go looking for Toby, because, trust me, he will be looking for you.

What do you know? This is where it all began,_ he said.__egan?___his is exactly where I was when I wanted to kiss you,_ he whispered, his lips brushing along my neck causing me to melt under his touch. __o bad.___xcept this time there__ no drunk netballer squawking at us,_ I teased.__ wouldn__ care if the seven horseman of the Apocalypse charged through the garden right now, nothing__ gonna stop me from doing this._ He leaned down and captured my lips with tenderness, a completely perfect kiss, like it always was.

A 'T' for Tess, a 'T' for Toby.

Tess, will you marry me?" Toby laughed.

Do you want some words of advice, Tess?__ glanced at Adam__ profile as he sipped.__on__ give your heart away too easily._ He turned to me. __ake him earn it.

Well, if they set you in the kissing booth, let me know, I am always willing to donate for a worthy cause.

He looked at me now."Remember I said, 'what if I didn't want to fix your bike?'"I remembered. "Yes...""I didn't want to fix it, because I liked driving you places.

Just be careful, hon,_ Rosanna said.__h, are the plates hot?_ I flinched back just before my hands made contact.Rosanna laughed. __o, but hot boys can burn you just as easily.

So if I was to choose? Then I choose complicated,_ I said, with a nod of finality. I met his eyes again in a silent challenge.__ choose you.

If there is one thing worse than self-pity, it was other people's pity.

You're not as invisible as you think.